Improvement in ore-washers



THE NoRRIs PsrERs co., wAsHlNaroN, n. c,

1HE Mamas PETERS ca., WASHINGTON. n. c4

www $ii5 C@ aim @ffl-d( HEZEKIAH BRADFORD, Aor READING, PENNSYLVANIA;

Letters vPatent lilo. 108,9t2., datd November 8, 1810; antedated OctobervZB, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN ORE-,WASHERS.

The-Schedule referred to ln these Letters Patent and making partv of the same.

To all-whom't't 'mcy concern:

Be it known that I, HEZEKIAH BRADFORD, of Reading, in the countyof Berks and State 'of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvementin Ore-fashers; and the following is hereby declared to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same. In Letters PatentNo. 15,544, granted August 12, 1856, a horizontal-cylinder is, shown revolving in a water-hopper cistern, said cylinder being perforated, and receiving theore at one endand discharging it at'the other end. g

My present invention is an improvement upon the same, whereby the central shaft is dispensed with, giving an unobstructed opening for receiving and delivering the ores. A

I also make use of av peculiar character ofperforated cylinder, as hereafter set forth, and provide. for delivering the water and muddy accumulation iu such a manner that the hopperfcistern will be entirely emptied by the contents running off' at the point of delive'rywhen the, apparatus is stopped, thereby preventinginjury to the apparatus' in Irostyweather by the l'eezing ofwatcr or muddy scdimentat the bottom or upon the sides ofthe trough.

I find, by experiment, that the sides of this trough should be at least sixty degrees of inclination, andthe sides smooth, to prevent the earthy materials setting upon the sides, as-in the apparatus patented aforesaid,

and in some cases more than sixty degrees is required.

' In the drawing- Figure 1 is aview, endwisc, ofthe cylinder. Figure 2 shows a portion 'of-the side of the washing-cylinder, the other parts being vrepresented by a -vertical section.

The frame-work a is formedso as to sustain the shafts b b, upon which'arc supporting-wheels c c, that sustain the ore-washing cylinder, said Wheels acting below the cyliudricalnecksland d', that project from extending in the form 'of an inverted pyramid to the point of delivery at m.

The sides of thls inverted pyramid'should be sulficently steep to prevent thel lodging of sediment, so'

that all earthy foreign matters subside to the apex of the cone, where they are delivered through the said aperture. an..

This inclination must depend upon the character of material being washed, so that'the earthy vmaterial may .settle rapidly, andleavc the water clearer at top,

while a thick muddy accumulation isdrawn off at the 1 bottom', thus effecting the washing with aslittle waste 'of water as possible; and when work is stopped, the enflows away too fast from the aperture m the level of the water bccoinestoo ilw, and if any particles o f ore obstruct said opening `the hopper-cistern iills up with sediment, and water rises or overflows.

In consequcuceof these conditions, great difficulty has b'een experienced at the delivery-opening nl, because the slides heretofore employed produced a narrow opening, that became obstructed, when, in conse-` quencc o f scarcity of water, it -was'desired to deliver as small a stream of sediment as would prevent ith-om accumulatingin the hopper-cistern.

To overcome this diiiiculty, I find that it is neces' sary to maintain as nearly a round opening as possible, to prevent the stoppage of the outlet by pieces of ore or other substances, when the scarcity of water makes it desirable to use as small a quantity as possille. v

To effect this, I make use' of a slide, n, (see the elevation,l iig. 3, and section, iig. 4,) which slide f is, s et over the opening m, 'and lis formed with an inverted V-shaped notch at its Alower edge, sol that the stream running from mwill be of greater or lesser size, according to the position of the slide a, and the opening will alwaysbe of a'nearly circular shape, to allow the free discharge of sediment, the li'olc m being either circular or V-shaped.

Thev slide n is operated by Meyer, a', and segmental gearand rack o, and the slide"s pressed to its place by a sector, o', at the side of the teeth, so that the. slide n will not become loose in consequence of any wear in the teeth. v

A pin iu `the sector p serves to hold the lever n and gate or slide n in any position to which itmay be adjusted; v v

A trough, q, serves to convey away 'the water and earthy materials. A

`The 'ore-washing cylinder itself is formed of staves r, vmade with perforations through them. Said perforations may be wider at the inner side.

' One of these staves is shown separately in figl 5. These 'staves should formthe section of a cylinder, and theends of the staves have grooves 10 to receive the edges of the headsf g, and the bands12 13 clamp the 'said staves firmly to' the heads, as to form a. -very firm, strong, and rigid cylin( ler,"witbout the use of a shaft.

The cnt-irc cylinder is surrounded by a wire-cloth or perforated metal screen, shown partially at. s, fig. 2, the samebeing retained by the bands s', and the meshes of tlislscrecn are of a size to retain the particles of ore or other material of the desired size, and allow smaller particles to pass through, and the v stares i' support hc body of ore and take the wear inl tlie"cyl-l Viidr-n', and prevent the screen of wire-clothlor `other fniaterial being rapidly worn ont, and the openings in saidstaves being largest at the innersurface ofthe stave tl1 e4 ore cannot become wedged in, but the openings will be constantly kept free by the orc dropping backinto the cylinder as it revolves by the action otthe water in running through the openings on the descending side of the cylinder.

This cylinder and screen might be used where water was not employed. Ido not, however, liinit myself yto the holes being largest at the' inner surface ot' the cylinder. Y n

lhe stavcs `r have flanges, r', placed at suitable distances apart, pointing inward, and serving to cut up the clay and to separate and agitate the mass of ore, and also to cause it to progress toward thel delivery- `head d', as said flanges are placed at an inclination, as seen in figs. 2 and 5, to move the ore Valo'ng as it slides past the flanges. 4 Y

'lhe inclination of the flanges r' maybe more toward the receiving'end of the cylinder tliari at the delivery-end, so as to keep the oi'e or other material from accumulating at tlie"reccivingend when there is a thick layer 0f orein the iniddle'and delivery-end of the cylinder, as'hereafte'r named.

The orc is supplied by the feediiiget-rough t, tlirongl the neck d of thc Vhead f, and delivered through the `1ieck d', and the watcrniay be supplied by a sprinkler, t, at this neck d', so asto cleanse theV ore thoroughly ljywashing the muddy water ed thc ore as it pa'ss'es `out, the waterthus used running into the( cylinder and liopper-sbaped cisterirl' g Tater may also pass inlwitli the' ore, if required, to assist iirfeeding the saine, or m'ay bev supplied te thehopper-shape'd-cistem iii any vother way. y

make use of a perforated lifting inclinedvolute for taking thc orc ont ot' the cylinder. This volute is showniiifigr-2, and by the sepai'ate views figs. 6, 7,

8, and 9.

This volute, iii fig. 6, is shown with the sections t2, iz., o, fw, and :f r, forming a compound inclined volute scoop to take up the ore from near the stares, and deliver itout into the neck ld', where the screw-flan ge c? causes it to be'passcil out of saidneck.

It' tbc ore contains elaysballs or other material requiring considerable abrasion or rubbing to dissolvev the clay and separate the earthy material, it is impor-v "taiit that a larger quantity of material should be in' lthe cylinder under operation, so that the weight ot' oi'e and the consequenti'iibbing or scrubbing 0fthe pieces against each other and against thc clay-balls may be more effective in cleaning the ore as it moves slowly through the cylinder.,

To etfect'this, section t2 may be taken ol'l`, and a shorter section, shown in fig. 8, may be substituted, or both sections t2 and it may be removed, and the, slioitsection u', fig. 7, substituted. v

'l-his will cause a layer of considerable thickness to be under opcratloii in the cylinder, andA in V.this c'ase the inclined flanges ucar the supply-end keep the inaterizil awa) .from below the feeding-neck, so that said terial may run iii freely, even it' the orc s,-banked tu, at the delivery-end.

The screw x in the neck d is raised slightly'fr the inner surface of said neck .so that water may rii'i under the saine. rlhe water as it is supplied fronrthe pipe t and the sprinkler t1, accumulates in the recessed portion t of the neck, so that the ore is immersed .fiore or less in fresh water before its final delivery from said neck d4 over the internal flange t", that prevents tlie water riinningout at this end, and causes it to friinQback into thc ore-washing cylinder.

The neck l' may be made shorter, and of a cylindrical form, and teeth may be substituted for the` screw we, so as to agitata the ore, and move it during tbe final washing and delivery over the flange t7, still allowing theavat'er t5 run back through the cylinder,

worn and injured by the large lumps, the top edges.

of theplates h* being narrow, so that water runs ofi` the upper surface anddown thc sides of said plates 'through the bars It, freeing the ore from the surplus water. Y

The bars h are sufficiently close to prevent the ore or similar material passing between them, and, in.

consequence of the openings between` the bars being vertical, the water from the ore draws away rapidly,

. there being nothing to prevent the-water dropping directly through the opening betweeirtlie bars as the ore f 'alls upon such bars. Hence, the orcis more thoroughly deprived of the water than would beV the case if the openings wj'ere at right angles to the iiiclined surface of the chute. v i

In place ot`,usiiig the wheels or rollers c c, the orewashing cylinder might be suspended by chains from pulleys upon ashaft placed over the said cylinder; but Iprefer the construction shown. I claim asiny invention- 1. The ore-washing cylinder, formed with the heads fand g' andnecks d d', in combination with the shafts b b.and support-ing-whecls c c, as and for the purposes lspecified 2.' The hopper-shaped iisterii and delivery-opening i l an, in combination witlz the slide n, having a A-sliaped edge, as and for the p irposes specified.

3,- llic slide iz, with a ^shaped edge, iii combination with a cistern, l, opening in., segment o',.and gear- ,-teetli o, as specified.

4. The perforated cylinder r, formed of staves, ln

:,combnation with the surrounding screen, substantially 5. The removablesections of the perforated in cliiicd lifting-volute, iiicoinbination with the ore-washing cylinder, as and fointlie purposes set forth. 6. 'lbe neck d', formed with a recessed interior siii'- fzice t, and flange t7, as and for the purposes specified. 7. The inclined chiite, formed with bars h3 and intervening vertical' openings, combined with the plates or ribs It?, as and for the purposes set forth.

A8. The staves 1 with the flanges c", formed in the l manner and for the purposes specified.

9. The staves r, made with grooves near the ends for rcccivingltlic edges of the heads f g, in combination with the clamping-bands 12 13, as and for the purposes specified. l l y 10. llie' slide n, having a ^-sliaped edge, in combination ivitlitlie opening an. of the hopper or vessel, substantially as specified, so as to obtain a variable discharge-opening of the character set forth.V

11. llie bars h, set transversely of the vchute c, and having inclined upper surfaces, solthat the opening between thc bars may be nearly'vert-ical, as ,and

for the purposes specified.

Signed-by me this 113th day of April, A. D. 1870.

HEZEKIAH BRADFORD.

' 'llitnesscs \G11As.' H. SMITH,

GEO. T. PINGKNnv. 

